Krissy: "My dad's a pretty great hunter, and your brother's the size of a car. So how'd this thing get them both?"

This one got me thinking. So I guess it did its job.

Yes, it was pretty much a classic Supernatural monster hunt, but there were Bobby Singer echoes all over the place. Bobby was always the one Dean and Sam called for help, but this time it was another hunter's child that called Dean and Sam, and they got to be the parents this time. Dean was all lecturing father with Krissy, just as Bobby had been to him, and Krissy was young Dean all over again, the smart-mouthed caretaker child who grew up too fast and became a hunter like Dad. Dean and Sam rescued Krissy's father this time, after failing to rescue Bobby four weeks ago.

I liked Krissy well enough. But she was so chip-on-her-shoulder hostile that I thought for awhile that she would turn out to be a Vetala, too. Maybe Lee Chambers will listen to Dean. Maybe Krissy will go to Stanford like Sam, and actually finish and make a life for herself. No, I don't think so. Once you're in, you're in. We got lots of reminders of how hunters get into the business. Krissy lost her mother. Frank Deveraux lost his wife and kids.

Lots of Frank Devereaux, and even with the Bobby vibes, it was pretty clear that Frank is good at what he does, but he is absolutely not Bobby. The boys are unlikely to get close to Frank. (Acquaintances, not friends.) He's funny, though. Super paranoid, super smart, and he called Dean a lot of pet names: sweetie pop, Buster Brown, my little lamb, Tarzan, grasshopper and cupcake. (I miss Sawyer. And Lorne.) Not to be outdone, Krissy called Dean a dweeb, jackass, hypocrite, asshat, and "kind of amusing for an old man." Dean called Frank a douchebag, but he calls everyone a douchebag.

So on the whole, I found this first post-Bobby episode satisfying. Bobby's passing was acknowledged emotionally and thematically, and he was mourned and missed. (Although I found it upsetting that there was no one to call, no house to close up. It was as if Bobby never existed. At least it seemed that Dean was finally ready to cry for him at the end of the episode.)

The boys will move on now, as best they can. Fight monsters, back each other up better than they did this time. They took a major hit, but they still have a job to do. After all, there's an important field somewhere in Wisconsin. What are the Leviathans building there, a people-processing plant? Soylent Green is people?

Bits and pieces:

— The Vetalas were successful monsters because they were partners, and Sam nearly bought it because Dean let him go in alone. Yes, this is a theme they've touched upon before. It's season seven.

— I really liked the way Sam sacrificed himself to save Lee from getting bitten one more time.

— One of the Vetalas was played by Meghan Ory of Once Upon a Time. Lee Chambers was played by Ian Tracey, who played real nasties in Highlander and Sanctuary. I liked this character much better.

— I liked that Bobby didn't finish writing the numbers on Sam's hand. It made sense, considering how close to death he was.

— Frank appears to have a poor grasp of time.

— This week: the cabin, a field in Wisconsin, and I don't know where the Vetalas were. Dean and Frank masqueraded as phone technicians.

— What was going on with the disappearing beer? Would that be an alcoholic ghost, perhaps?

Quotes:

Dean: "Frank, I'm not a Leviathan."
Frank: "Oh, sure, you're not a Leviathan. Dick Roman's not a Leviathan, Gwyneth Paltrow is not a Leviathan..."
Dean: "Yeah?"

Frank: "You think it's easy to see this deep into what's real and also be bipolar with delusional ideation? There is no pill for my situation, sweetie pop, so yeah, best guess the big mouths are on to me. Next question."

Dean: "What's she doing?"
Frank: "Being a naughty, bossy little girl."
Dean: "I hate to ask for that in the non-porno version."

Dean: "Relax. It's a field, not a Death Star."

How would you rate this episode? How many sweetie pops out of four?

Billie
---Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

I agree that this first post-Bobby episode was satisfying. It wasn't the best episode, but it had some really strong moments, and I felt like it fully carried the weight of Bobby's death and dealt with its impact well. Given the title, I went into this one prepared to be totally put off by the tone, and to possibly done with the series. But they handled things well enough that I'm not ready to hang it up just yet.

The best moments for me were (1) Dean's confrontation with Frank, in which Frank told him he needed to get out or buck up and be a professional, and (2) the later payoff to that scene with Dean's final moments in the car. I almost started crying watching him trying to "do it with a smile" but not being quite able to. Heartbreaking.

I think the "disappearing beer" was just supposed to be an indication of how obsessively focused Dean was becoming with the Dick Roman hunt, and how tired he was. I think he just drank it and didn't realize it. No ghostly funny business.

I agree with Jess -- whoever came up with the idea of him doing weird little grimace smiles in the car rather than breaking down deserves a gold star. That got me much closer to weepy than manly tears would have done.

Ohhh, Josie... I remember that one. But nobody leaves this place without singing the blues!

Enjoyed this one. It felt like a good old school monster episode (sans Bobby). I spent the whole episode trying to place the young girl. I think she may have been in The Mentalist.

I thought the mysteriously emptying beer bottle was just an indication of how much Dean's drinking. He's knocking it back so fast he's losing track; an indication that his drinking (already out of control) is getting worse.

I liked this a lot and I feel it dealt nicely with Bobby´s passing. It was a monster of the week episode but it dealt with the boy´s reactions to Bobby being gone and it felt much darker than most episodes.

I liked this quite a bit as well. Bobby's absence was keenly felt which I appreciate, but I hope the mourning isn't completely over. Mourning John was it's own mini story arc - I think Bobby deserves at least a couple of episodes.

I'm not normally a big fan of smart alecky kids but this one won me over (although her name didn't register. Didn't realize her name was Krissy until I read this review.) I wouldn't mind if they had her back, although that would mean she failed at getting out of the life. But that'll probably happen anyway so...

Dean's "happy face" at the end was indeed gut-wrenching. JP and JA are such good actors they make you feel the Winchester's pain. It's really frustrating watching two people so close together yet suffering alone. Sadly realistic but frustrating.

I think Bobby is still around. I don't know how they are going to pull it off but I would actually put real cash money on him being back before the end of the season.

I'll give it 7.5 out of 10. That's a good score for me but they lose half a point for not enough Sam mourning on screen.

Ooh, good point Billie. It occured to me that if only the last number was missing from Bobby's numbers, then there would be 10 possibilities for coordinates. 3 would not be the only viable end number, every other single digit would work too. I guess all the coordinates would be fairly close together, and along a single line of latitude so I guess it doesn't matter too much!

I really REALLY wish they didn't kill off Bobby. The Winchesters are so lonely that it really hurts to see them so friggin alone all the time. And, yeah, I loved Bobby too. I think they followed up on his death pretty well, without making the episode too death-orientated, and still got the story forward. Looking forward to your next one!

PS: Nicely spotted about the beer bottle in your comment, that never occurred to me at all.

Being a rock chick since way back, I just love it when this show rocks out. The "Road So Far" this time, set to Speedwagon, was one of the best in an age. I played it three times. Liked it better than the show itself.

Except the final scene set to Traffic. The lyrics to that song are perfect for what the boys, especially Dean, are going through.